Five Years
by Chumunga64
Summary: Leon reflects on his life after the fall of his world and his relationship with a certain Ninja


Five years. Five years since he lost his home, five years since he lost his friends and the women he loved, five years since the heartless ravaged Radiant garden. If you were to ask Leon, he would have told you he was still surprised that in five years he managed to restore Radiant Garden. It wasn't much; all the people who lived here were still gone. Zell, Irvine, Quistis all gone. He had heard rumors that Selphie and Seifer were still alive but he didn't put much stock into those rumors. And then there was Rinoa. The kind and gentle soul who managed to break through his cold exterior. If you asked Leonfive years ago, he would have told you that he still loved her and that he could still remember her. Unfortunately, memories tend to fade and now Leon even struggled to recollect what she looked like. Leon inwardly sighed at his dilemma. He abandoned his old name in some sort of sorry attempt to start anew, yet here he was still pining for the past.

Leon opened the door to the quaint little abode that he called home. After spending an inordinate amount of time at a hotel in Traverse town, a house seemed like an impossible luxury. Memories of his refugee status started flooding back. He was twenty years old when some new peoples popped up after their world was destroyed. An impossibly skilled and gruff mechanic named Cid, a generous and patient women (who reminded him _way too much_ of Rinoa) named Aerith, and Yuffie. Yuffie was an anomaly. She was a fifteen year old "ninja" (apparently, those were real where she came from) who relished fighting as much as he did. The Hotel Manager offered them all a place to stay as a sort of thanks for defending the town. Cid declined, saying something about how he will live in a shop he just bought. Leon was thankful that he declined because living space was already an issue. Aerith took the small red room for herself while he and Yuffie had to share the green room. Sharing a room with a girl five years younger than him was not how Leon envisioned his future to be. Luckily for him, they became almost like siblings. Even though her bubbly, hyper energy contrasted greatly with the stoic badass demeanor he cultivated for himself, Leon soon found Yuffie's assistance in battle. For a while, things settled into a comfortable routine. He and Yuffie would go on daily patrols at dawn to root out any heartless that dared show their face in Traverse Town. Leon was used to getting up early but he was surprised that Yuffie didn't go on an impudent rant at not getting her "beauty sleep" like his old female comrades used to do. She was up as early as he was and he enjoyed that.

Just as things were getting into a rhythm, something weird happened again. This time a kid with an oversized key crash landed in Traverse Town with a duck and dog in tow. Like everyone else in Traverse Town, his world was lost to the darkness. Unlike everyone else, Sora could go to different worlds and permanently kill heartless. Leon saw a little hope in the boy and fought him to test his mettle, the kid (whose name was apparently Sora) was…alright for someone who never held a sword before. After sealing the keyhole in Traverse Town, Sora left to stop whatever was causing the destruction of the worlds.

To everyone's surprise, Sora did save the worlds from the heartless. He returned to Hollow Bastion with his new friends. Along the way, he was introduced to a blonde haired man that goes by Cloud. His demeanor was similar to Leon but his outfit made him look ridiculous. This Cloud fellow was apparently a friend of Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid's and judging by the way Aerith looked at him, they were more than friends. Leon's homecoming was bittersweet. He still recognized the place he grew up in but everything looked _infected._ Whoever controlled the heartless left his old home in shambles. Cid suggested rebuilding the place, making it another hub for people who lost their own worlds. Traverse Town _was_ getting crowded. They had a lot of work to do if they were going to restore Radiant Garden to its former glory.

It took three long, hard years but Radiant Garden was restored. Although it could never reach the heights of its Glory Days, the new Radiant Guardian had a sort of rustic charm. Blue lanterns were strung up everywhere to give the town square a "calm feeling" Leon had his now grown up ninja accomplice to thank for that. Aerith and Cid were too strung up with the old man's new security system to help and Cloud spent most of his time brooding so his assistance was out of the question. Yuffie was the only one Leon could rely on to help out. The years made Yuffie mature but she never lost her mischievous edge, Leon liked that, too many people change completely as the years go by. What _did change_ was the girl's appearance. Becoming an adult really worked out for Yuffie. Suddenly, the shorts and midriff bearing top the ninja called an "outfit" felt a little too risqué for Leon. Among all the people who managed to immigrate to Radiant Garden to start a new life, an overwhelming amount of men volunteered to restore the once beautiful local. Leon always felt more than a twinge of anger as he observed the men gawking at his friend as she worked. Those same men would attempt to point out his hypocrisy when they caught him looking at her but he told them that he was simply looking out for her wellbeing (he was also trying to convince himself that his glances were for that reason only). Yuffie always teased the other men whenever they stopped working and just stared at her, she was still the same old Yuffie to him, and he had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, that was great. Leon never really enjoyed change but he was always confused as to why Yuffie never flirted with him. He always thought he looked reasonably attractive and always received love letters from various admirers.

The arrival of someone else from The Lifestream Group's (Leon's nickname for Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, and Cid's entourage) took his mind off Yuffie for a good amount of time. Some odd woman who thinks it's her mission to stop Cloud from "giving in to despair" or something like that entered the scene with great force. The mysterious women told Leon to call her "Tifa" and she was popular with the rest of the Lifestream Group. Interestingly enough, Leon noticed that Cloud and Aerith drifted apart shortly after the arrival of Tifa. He had theorized that this Tifa woman stole Cloud away from Aerith but that theory was proven false when it became apparent that Tifa and Aerith are super close. And even though Cloud's affection towards Aerith transferred to Tifa, the blond man still remained cordial with Aerith. Leon decided not to probe any further, after all, that would be very hypocritical to delve into his friends' pasts. For now, the only thing he wanted to focus on was the final part of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Project- his house.

Well, it wasn't strictly his home anymore. Sure it stood where his old home used to stand but back then it was just him, now he had someone else to share it with. The presence of Yuffie in his life proved to be a thing he couldn't move past. It was strictly platonic camaraderie (or at least that's what he convinced himself it was) that drove him to invite Yuffie to his new home. To nobody's surprise, she gratefully accepted his offer and proceeded to turn _his_ home in _their_ home. Leon was always a fairly basic person when it came to furnishings; a couple of lights and white paints were good enough for him. Yuffie was the one who added all the Lamps, vases, paintings, and various other oddities to their abode. She called it the "Wutai touch" and he had to admit, they looked nice. Even though he invited Yuffie to room with him due to their time in Traverse Town, not e _verything_ was the same. For one, they didn't have to deal with a population density problem and cram into a room together. They each had their own separate room this…not that it mattered much. Yuffie was frequently plagued with nightmares (and to be honest, so was he) so sharing beds was still a regular occurrence. Leon understood just how _intimate_ that sounded but whenever that complicated thought reared into his head he quickly tossed it aside. Besides, his new bed was huge, leaving enough space for both of them to sleep without getting too close. Leon promised himself that he would discuss his relationship with the ninja girl if she bought it up, but thankfully she never did. Yuffie despised talking about her feelings as much as he did, yet another aspect of her that he lov-er, liked about her (where the hell did that _come_ from?)

Once again, something new dropped out of the sky to distract him from his thoughts. This time it was Sora, Donald, and Goofy once again. The years changed Sora as well and he handled the keyblade almost as good as Leon handled his gunblade. Sora helped defeat the heartless onslaught that attacked Traverse town, just like old times. While Sora and his friends went on their own, Cloud and Tifa chased after this Sephiroth guy. That made Leon and Yuffie the ones defending the people who lived in the town (typical). Cid's genius defense system helped ease the load off their backs and years of fighting together made the battle a breeze. After the initial war was done, Sora informed them of the dilemma involving Ansem's information. To retrieve said information Sora went inside the old man's computer. Leon trained himself to expect anything to happen and that still caught him off guard. After Sora obtained the info he needed, he bid everyone farewell and continued his adventure to parts unknown. The group later received a letter from Sora stating that he and his friends saved the worlds…again and that he's going to be training with the King for a while.

That was two years ago. It's been a total of five years since his home was destroyed and Leon just spent a good hour or two lying in bed reminiscing about the past. Typical, he couldn't fall asleep. A quick glance beside him revealed Yuffie writhing around Leon was about to wake her up and calm her down when he heard _exactly what_ she was mumbling in her sleep.

"Yeah Squall…I needed…that…don't stop"

Those words coupled with Yuffie fondling herself through her translucent nightgown almost gave Leon a heart attack. He leapt out of bed as quietly as he could, which was harder than it should have been due to an uncomfortable tightness in his trousers. He needed to get up and avoid Yuffie for a while. Things were getting too complicated.

Leon spent the next couple of days hanging out with anyone _but_ Yuffie. Aerith caught on to the fact that Leon was pacing nervously in her kitchen and decided to question his odd behavior.

"What is going on, Leon?"

"Nothing…just wanted to interact with you more"

"You're a terrible liar, Leon. You're hiding from something."

"It's Yuffie"

"Oh No, did you two break up or something?"

"What? No! Look, we're not even dating, and I'm avoiding her because I don't _want_ us to become anything more than what we are now."

"And why not?"

"Because I _had_ someone! Before all this heartless shit happened there was this woman, her name was Rinoa and I loved her!"

That mention of Leon's past hit a nerve with Aerith. Perhaps it was because Leon was using it as an excuse to deny his feeling for her friend, whatever it was; Aerith felt a need to speak. "Cut that crap, Leon!"

Leon's jaw dropped when he heard the sweet flower girl curse at him, the rant that followed didn't give him an opportunity to pick it back up.

"You gave yourself a new name as some sorry attempt to "start a new life" yet you can't let go of the past! Newsflash _Squall_ , we all lost people who were close to us! Spending your life mulling over the past won't make things any better! As you're friend and Yuffie's friend, I think you deserve to put all that behind you and just move on."

After an agonizing amount of silence, Leon decided to speak up. "So…you lost someone you loved as well?"

"Yes, a soldier named Zack. He was a kind person, a bit goofy and tended to do squats everywhere but he was amazing. I think my relationship with Cloud was some sort of feeble attempt to replace Zack with someone similar. It took me a while but I realized that I didn't actually love Cloud for who he is, he was just a replacement for Zack. Tell me Leon; was this Rinoa anything like Yuffie?"

Aerith was caught off guard when Leon let out a burst of raucous laughter. "Rinoa was kind, gentle, sweet basically the opposite of Yuffie" the man said with a smile.

"Ah, so you like Yuffie for her own personality and not as way to "replace" Rinoa. That's good, why don't you tell her about your feelings? The sexual tension is _killing me_."

"All right _mom_ , I'll talk to Yuffie. Just one more question- why did you think we were already an item?"

"Not just me, everyone knew that you guys were crazy for each other. We also knew that both of you were too stubborn to admit it! Both of you were always out patrolling together and whenever we did see you two, you were too busy ogling each other bodies to notice us. Seriously, do you know how often we caught you staring at her ass?"

Leon quickly left the kitchen, a deep Scarlet tone enriching his cheeks. The man sought to find Yuffie; he wanted her to know exactly how he felt. Luckily for him, he found her in one of Scrooge McDuck's shops. The old duck was one of the few people who knew what life in Radiant Garden was like before its fall so he was happy to donate some money to restore the land. He was also a former adventurer as well and relished a chance to tell his old tales to anyone who was willing to listen. That made Yuffie one of his closest friends and business partners, she was always eager to learn more about the old duck's past.

"Leon! It's great to see you! It almost felt like you were avoiding me for the last few days…"

"Yeah, I got caught up in some things. I know this seems weird but can you come with me to our house? I need to tell you the truth…"

"Uh…okay Leon"

"Go on ahead, I need to buy something"

Leon waited for Yuffie to go out of sight before requesting a big bouquet of flowers from the old Duck. Surprisingly, Scrooge refused his request. The old coot said something about how Yuffie wasn't a "flower kind of lass" he seemed to understand their complex relationship and urged Leon to just tell her how he felt. Scrooge assured Leon that she felt the same way. Before he bid his farewell, Scrooge handed Leon something free of charge. Leon didn't know what was weirder, Scrooge giving something to someone free of charge or that fact that the old duck gave him a pack of condoms. The absurdity of a duck being the closet thing he got to a wingman was almost hilarious but he had someone to meet. Quickly shoving the rubbers in his back pocket, Leon hurried home, where Yuffie was waiting for him.

"What did you want to tell me, Leon?"

"I…just wanted…to…oh, screw this!"

With that, Leon grabbed the ninja girl, bringing him to face level with him. Eye to eye, he could see by her flushed face that she wanted this as much as he did. He relished the fact that he was cupping her rear, before confidently kissing his friend. Their tongues dueled in heated battle for dominance, after a fierce battle, Leon won and celebrated by moving one hand up her back while the his other hand squeezed her ass. Yuffie's legs squeezing his midsection forced Leon to break the kiss and offer to finish their moment in the bedroom. Yuffie quickly agreed and decided to "freshen up" but not before teasing Leon.

"So how good did it feel touching the thing you've been staring at for three years?" obviously referring to her butt

Leon headed to his room to change as all the confidence that he built up crumbled down. He took off most of his clothes, leaving only his boxers before inspecting himself in the mirror. "Okay, abs. woman like abs, right?" he spoke to no one in particular. He was interrupted from his thoughts when Yuffie stepped in the room. The gunblade wielder was taken aback when he saw her. She was wearing her usual translucent nightgown but now she neglected to wear her bra and shorts that tended to wear at night. Leon had to fight urge to pounce on her then and there. He instead decided to crack a joke in a sort of attempted revenge.

"You know, you wore the same thing when you begged me to fuck you in your sleep…" he said with a sly smile. Leon fought the urge to laugh when he caught Yuffie's face turn a deep red colour. He had a mission to accomplish.

Quickly picking her up, Leon got on the bed, positioning Yuffie on top of himself. After a few fleeting moments of kissing he made his move.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Yeah…I think I am, Leon."

Lifting the hem of her nightgown, Yuffie straddled Leon's waist to get in the right position. Her hoarse moans as her velveteen walls trapped his erect member almost drove Leon into a frenzy. He couldn't believe he was able to deny himself for so long. Leon turned her over and jammed herself into her, the duo quickly settled into a rhythm of thrusts and kissing. Yuffie was the first to orgasm and Leon soon followed. He got off her and almost collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Yuffie got back on top of him and soon fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her up, he dozed off as well.

For the first time in his life, Leon dreaded his daily morning heartless hunt. He didn't want to wake up Yuffie, who was still on top of him. Luckily for him, his phone had a message from Aerith.

"Cloud and Tifa are doing the morning patrol today, figured you guys were going to be busy! ;-)"

Leon reminded himself to thank Aerith later; right now he just wanted to take everything in. It's been five years since he lost his home, his friends, and his first love. It's been five years since he rebuilt his home, gained new friends, and found another soul he could love. He didn't know what the future will bring for him, all he knew was that he enjoyed today.


End file.
